Italian Meringue Buttercream Base - Egg White Cream Recipe

Italian meringue buttercream base is a classic cooked egg-white cream, where whipped whites are "cooked" with a hot syrup boiled to 120°C. It's the safest type of egg-white cream and also very stable: it holds its shape, tints well, and works both for crumb-coating a cake and for decorating. I recommend it - enjoy!

Italian Meringue (Egg White Cream)

A classic cooked egg-white cream: whipped whites are cooked with a 120°C sugar syrup. Dense, stable, and versatile.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 1 batch of cream

Course: Creams and frostings

Cuisine: Home cooking

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 3 egg whites
• 280 g sugar
• 90 g water
• 1 pinch citric acid

Method

 

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook the syrup to 120°C. Without a thermometer: bring to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the syrup thickens but still pours.
   
2. At the same time, whip the egg whites into a light foam.
   
3. Continuing to whip the whites, pour in the hot syrup in a thin stream. Whip until the mixture becomes dense and springy.
   
4. Add a pinch of citric acid to help the cream hold its shape, whip once more, and turn off the mixer. Tint if desired and use for decorating.
   

Notes

Piped onto baked goods, the cream keeps well for up to a week.

Tips

• If you don't have a thermometer, bring the syrup to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes: it should thicken but still pour.
• Both processes - cooking the syrup and whipping the whites - happen at the same time, so everything is ready together.
• Citric acid is added at the end: it helps the cream hold its shape.
• Piped onto baked goods, the cream keeps well for up to a week.